Aleco employees reject San Miguel takeover bid

MANILA, Philippines - Union workers of Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) are opposing the entry of San Miguel Global Power into the cooperative, said Ko-op Movement convenor Ricardo Reyes.  

Reyes said the union workers prefer a coop-to-coop option instead of a private sector takeover.

 â€œThe Koop ko ‘To Movement stands firm by the Aleco union and thousands of its supporters in their position that coop-to-coop rather than private sector participation is the best option for Aleco in particular, and to other ailing coops in general, because the concept fosters cooperation among electric cooperatives – with their best practices shared among themselves to ensure economic and technical viability – while preserving the non-profit nature of these public utilities.   We will therefore continue to promote this alternative in opposition to government’s sinister plan to privatize the last stronghold of public power – the electric cooperatives,” Reyes said.

However, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla expressed optimism that the entry of the San Miguel Corp. subsidiary would be good for the ailing cooperative. He said the cooperation of cooperative members is necessary.

“What is critical here is the cooperation of the people,” he said.

SMC Global Power is soon expected to take over the cooperative after Albay power consumers have voted to allow the entry of the private sector in the management of Aleco.  

The National Electrification Administration, a state-owned agency, that oversees EC operations, earlier conducted a referendum. Unofficial results showed that power consumers are amenable to the entry of a private sector company in Aleco instead of another cooperative.